1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computers and, in particular, to methods, apparatus and systems for maintaining appropriate configuration updates to software/hardware configuration through the use of physical device recognition to tailor configuration updates.
2. Description of the Related Art
Monitoring changes and updates to the plurality of computer programs resident on a client device is a difficult task for the typical user to consistently perform. In addition, the latest update from a vendor may not be appropriate considering the hardware, software or physical/geo-location of the client device. Thus, there is a need in the art for a tool that will automate the program configuration update process and optimize the suggested updated program configuration to match the environment of the client device.
The present invention is directed toward a system, method and apparatus for remote updating of the configuration of a computer. One embodiment of the invention is system for remote updating a computer configuration, comprising: a client device configured to load a computer program to perform a remote update; a processor, at the client device, configured to perform physical device recognition on the client device to determine machine parameters, wherein unique device identifiers are generated for the client device, at least in part, based on the determined machine parameters; a transceiver configured to send the unique device identifiers to at least one of an auditing server and an update server via Internet; an update server configured to collect the unique device identifiers from at least one client device; a processor, at the update server, configured to analyzed the unique identifiers at the update server, wherein the analyzed unique identifiers determine an updated program configuration; and a transceiver, at the update server, configured to deliver the updated program configuration to the client device via Internet.
In accordance with one aspect of the embodiments described herein, there is provided an apparatus for remote update of a program, comprising: means for loading a client device with a computer program configured to perform a remote update; means for performing physical device recognition on the client device to determine machine parameters; means for generating unique device identifier based at least in part on the determined machine parameters; means for sending the unique device identifier to at least one of an auditing server and an update server; and means for receiving an updated program configuration from the update server.
In accordance with another aspect of the embodiments described herein, there is provided a method for remote update of a program, comprising: collecting unique identifiers from at least one of an audit server and client device at an update server; analyzing the unique identifiers; determining an updated program configuration for the client device from the analyzed unique identifiers; and delivering the updated program configuration to the client.
In accordance with another aspect of the embodiments described herein, there is provided a tangible computer readable medium having stored thereon, computer-executable instructions that, if executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method comprising: loading a client device with a computer program configured to perform a remote update; performing physical device recognition on the client device to determine machine parameters; generating unique device identifier based at least in part on the determined machine parameters; sending the unique device identifier to at least one of an auditing server and an update server; and receiving an updated program configuration from the update server.
In accordance with another aspect of the embodiments described herein, there is provided an apparatus for remote updating of a program, comprising: means for collecting unique identifiers from at least one of an audit server and client device; means for analyzing the unique identifiers; means for determining an updated program configuration for the client device from the analyzed unique identifiers; and means for delivering the updated program configuration to the client.
In accordance with another aspect of the embodiments described herein, there is provided a tangible computer readable medium having stored thereon, computer-executable instructions that, if executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method comprising: collecting unique identifiers from at least one of an audit server and client device; analyzing the unique identifiers; determining an updated program configuration for the client device from the analyzed unique identifiers; and delivering the updated program configuration to the client.